Sales device.



P. W. DE WITT.

SALES DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30, 1913.

1,095,088, Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

WITNESSES INVENTOR .L Frank WDeWH'f ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPn c0..WAsmNu'roN, 04:.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK WHITNEY DE WITT, OF JEROME, IDAHO, ASSIGNOR TO WESTERN NOVELTY AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF IDAHO.

SALES DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 30, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK V. DE Win, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Jerome, in the county of Lincoln and State of Idaho, have invented a new and Improved Sales Device, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved sales device for cigars and other articles and more especially designed for use on the top of show cases or counters and arranged to display the cigars or other articles to the best advantage, to protect the articles from dust or from unculy drying out, and to prevent unauthorized persons from surreptitiously abstracting the articlesfrom the device. v

In order to accomplish the desired result, use is made of a stand or support, a jar hinged to the said stand to swing from normal upright position into a tilted position, a cover for the said jar, and manually-controlled means for lifting the cover off the jar and tilting the jar.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the sales device; Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same and showing one of the jars in tilted position; and Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation of the same.

In dry climates it has been diiiicult to sell cigars and similar articles from the top of counters or show cases owing to the fact that the cigars dry out in a comparatively short time and thus lose most of their essential qualities. With my device presently to be described in detail the cigars are properly displayed, are protected against dust and prevented from drying out, and the cigars cannot be removed from their containers without action on the part of the salesman The sales device is mounted'on a suitably constructed casing or stand A adapted to rest with its bottom A on the top of the counter, show case or similar support B, and the stand A is detachably secured to the support B by the use of front and back cleats G, G attached to the bottom A, of which the front cleat C engages the front edge of the support B while the rear cleat C. is

provided with a clamping screw C adapted to abut against the rear edge of the support B.

The stand or casing A is provided with a number of steps A A A for supporting at their forward ends a corresponding number of jars or similar containers D, D, D preferably made of glass to permit of view ing the cigars or other articles contained in the jars. Each of the glass jars is provided with a metallic cup-shaped binding D at the bottom, connected at the under side by a hinge E, E or E with the forward end of the corresponding step A A A so that fthe rear portion of the corresponding jar D, D, D is normally supported on the top of the corresponding step A A or A and each jar is adapted to swing forwardly into The upper edge of each jar D, D, D is provided with a bind ing D, preferably made of felt or other suitable soft material, and the jars D, D, D

are closed while in normal upright position by covers F, F, F'-, of glass or other suitable material.

When it is desired to raise the covers F, F and F and tilt the jars D, D, D into an inclined position, as indicated in Fig. 2, relative to the jar D selling position, the following arrangement 7 is made: The rear ends of the bottom bindings D of the jars D, D, D are pivotally connected by links G, G, G with levers H,

'H, H arranged within the casing A and fulcrumed therein, as plainly indicated in Fig. 2, the.links G extending through suitable openings formed in the steps A A and A The rear ends of the levers H, H and H extend through openings A in the back A of the casing A, and the rear terminals of the said levers are provided with fingerpieces H under the control of the salesman to permit the latter to impart a swinging motion to any one of the levers whenever it is desired to lift a cover and impart a tilting motion to the corresponding jar D, D or D The back A of the stand A is set somewhat forward of the rear ends of the bottom A and the top of the uppermost step A to accommodate the fingerpieces H thus avoiding undesirable projections at the rear end of the stand A. H, H, H can be locked against movement by a locking plate I connected by hinges I The rear ends of the levers with the back A", suitable locking means being provided for locking the locking plate I in uppermost position at the time the said locking plate engages the under side of the rear ends of the levers H, H, H to hold the same against movement. The lower ends of the links G, G, G are connected with pull springs J, J, J 2 so as to normally hold the jars D, D, D in upright position on the steps A A A. The covers F, F, F are mounted on the upper ends of vertically disposed rods K, K, K mounted to slide up -and down in suitable bearings L arranged on the steps A A and A and the lower ends of the said rods K, K, K are pivotally connected with levers H, H, H and are also connected with pull springs N, N, N somewhat lighter than the corresponding springs'J, J, J

The operation is as follows: The jars D, D" and D filled with cigars or other articles are normally in upright position on the steps A A and A of the stand or casing A. When a customer desires an article out of any one of the jars the salesman presses the fingerpiece H of the corresponding lever H so that the desired jar is tilted forward into selling position and its cover F, F, F is raised to permit the customer to remove one or more of the articles contained in the tilted open jar. When this has been done the salesman releases the fingerpi'ece H to permit the springs J, N or J, N or J N to return the eorresponding jar to normal dormant position and to lower the cover back to the top of the jar to close the same. During any time the sales device is not in use the salesman swings the locking plate I upward into locking position and locks the same to the stand or casing A, so as to hold the levers H, H, H against movement thereby preventing unauthorized persons from abstracting articles from the jars. By providing the upper ends of the glass jars D, D and D with bindings D= all undue noise is reduced to a minimum on closing the jars by the covers F, F, F. As the jars are preferably made of glass or other suitable transparent or translucent material the contents thereof can be readily viewed by a customer to enable the latter to make the desired selection, after which the salesman manipulates the corresponding lever for eonsummating the sale.

The sales device shown and described is very simple and durable in construction, and although I have shown the three jars arranged on the stand A, it is evident that one or more such jars may be mounted on a stand in the manner above described.

In case the cigars are put up in tin cans, such cans after the covers have been removed can be placed into the jars to permit of selling the cigars out of the original packages.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1.. A sales device, comprising a support having a series of steps, jars, one for each step and each having the forward portion of its bottom projecting beyond the front edge of the corresponding step, hinges connecting the bottoms of the jars with the steps to allow of swinging the jars from normal upright position into a forwardly tilted position, independent manually-controlled actuating means connected with the said jars to move any one of the jars into tilted position independent of the other jars, and a spring connected with each of the said actuating means for returning the tilted jar to normal upright position on releasing the actuating means.

2. A sales device, comprising a support having a series of steps, jars, one for each step and each having the forward portion of its bottom projecting beyond the front edge of the corresponding step, hinges connecting the bottoms of the jars with the steps to allow of swinging the jars from nor .mal upright position into a forwardly-tilted position, links connected with the said jars, springs pulling on the said links to normally hold the jars in upright position, and levers fulcrumed independent one of the other on the said stand and connected with the said links.

3. A sales device, comprising a support having a series of steps, jars, one for each step, and each having the forward portion of its bottom projecting beyond the front edge of the corresponding step, hinges coni necting the bottoms of the jars with the steps to allow of swinging the jars from normal upright position into a forwardly tilted position, links connected with the said jars, springs pulling on the said links to normally hold the jars in upright position, levers fulcrumed independent one of the other on the said stand and connected with the said links, covers for the said jars, and rods mounted to slide on the steps and carrying the said covers, the rods being connected with the said levers.

4. A sales device, comprising a support having a series of steps, jars, one for each step and each having the forward portion of its bottom projecting beyond the front edge of the corresponding step, hinges connecting the bottoms of the jars with the steps to allow of swinging the jars from normal upright position. into a forwardly tilted position, links connected with the said jars, springs pulling on the said links to normally hold the jars in upright position, levers fulcrumed one independent of the other on the said stand and connected with the said links, covers for the said jars, rods mounted to slide on the steps and carrying the said covers, the rods being connected with the said levers, and springs connected with the said rods to lower the covers on releasing the levers.

5. A sales device, comprising a support having a series of steps, jars, one for each step, and each having the forward portion of its bottom projecting beyond the front edge of the corresponding step, hinges connecting the bottoms of the jars with the steps to allow of swinging the jars from normal upright position into a forwardly tilted position, manually-contr0lled levers fulcrumed on the stand independent one of the other, and links connecting the said levers with the corresponding jars, the rear ends of the levers being provided with fingerpieces arranged on the same level.

6. A sales device, comprising a support having a series of steps, jars, one for each step, and each having the forward portion of its bottom projecting beyond the front edge of the corresponding step, hinges connecting the bottoms of the jars with the steps to allow of swinging the jars from normal upright position into a forwardly tilted position, manually-controlled levers fulcrumed on the stand independent one of the other, links connecting the said levers with the corresponding jars, the rear ends of the levers being provided with fingerpieces arranged on the same level, and locking means on the stand adapted to engage the said lever to lock the same against movement.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' FRANK WHITNEY DE WITT.

WVitnesses:

M. SONNIDEREN, WM. A. PETERS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

